


People Watching

by preachgirl



Category: bap
Genre: F/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 20:49:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7005913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/preachgirl/pseuds/preachgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life is meant to be lived and experienced.</p>
            </blockquote>





	People Watching

Shin Yura’s life is a routine.

Although her job allows for flexible hours, she keeps to a strict schedule of working from 9am to 6pm each day. She finishes her research, interviews and articles for the magazine that she is working for during office hours so that she can reach home by 6.45pm. Dinner will take half an hour to prepare and she can dig in while watching the 7.20pm drama on SBS.

Her routine revolves around ‘observing’.

She observes trends for her job. Fashion, lifestyle, entertainment...the list goes on. Depending on what she is tasked to write on, she shifts her focus. People always want to know what trends are popular because this is what people do, they follow and mimic. Yet, this is not the kind of observer Yura is. For her, watching and analysing comes hand in hand. She always has to answer the ‘why’ question. She needs to know why things happen a certain way. This is because her goal is not to mimic but instead, empathize. When she researches and interviews people, she finds herself understanding the world a bit better. She internalizes the different motivations, tastes and opinions people have. By empathizing, it makes her feel like she is living different lives at once.  This also translates into why she loves to watch movies, dramas and read books. She lives her life through these fictional characters. Their pain is her pain. Their happiness is her happiness. Despite how much Yura enjoys all these activities, these are all secondary to her favourite hobby which she indulges in twice a week, over the weekends.

 

 ---

 

It was a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon.

Yura cycled leisurely on her sky-blue bicycle along the Han River. Her eyes curved into crescents behind her sunglasses as she took in the positive vibes of Hangang Park on a cool spring day. There was so much activity going on – people were rollerblading, flying kites, playing basketball etc. The whole park was just alive with laughter and movement. She decelerated as she reached her destination. It was a small and quiet café situated by the river. She locked her bicycle in one of the bicycle lots and entered the café. The entire structure of the café was made of glass – opaque when you view it from the outside but transparent from the inside. This was why she liked this café so much. It was the perfect place for her to indulge in her favourite hobby – people-watch.

She ordered a green tea Frappuccino and found a seat by the floor to ceiling glass windows. Even though fictional characters were interesting, real people were more complex and fascinating. There was no condescension in Yura’s observing. The glass windows were unlike the ones at the zoo which allow people to look at animals in their ‘natural habitat’. No, these windows formed a fourth wall. She was the audience to hundreds of actors at this moment. Each individual was the main character of their own show. She was glad that she was done with her latest article and could relax in a more peaceful environment instead of people-watching at Myeong-Dong, trying to understand the latest fashion trend. A couple on a tandem bicycle rode past and her eyes wandered to the male at the front who kept turning his head to look at his girlfriend, making sure that she was doing fine. The tender look on his face created a warm feeling in her chest.

_I wonder how it would be like to have such a caring boyfriend…_

Her eyes then trailed to two teenage boys who had their arms around each other’s shoulders while they rollerbladed slowly together. A pensive smile made its way up Yura’s face as she thought about her own childhood.

_If I had not simply focused on studying and working part-time, maybe I would have had made good memories with a best friend…_

The two friends came to a stop by a bench where a young toddler was taking shaky steps by herself. Her mouth was open and her eyes were twinkling with laughter as she took small steps with her parents watching by her side. 1, 2, and she fell on her bottom and began chuckling to herself. Yura could not help but giggle at the adorable little girl before her attention was once again caught by something else outside.

 

\---

 

A man lifted his fragrant cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip. His eyebrows creased as he looked through a few interviews he had done for the latest article he was planning to submit to a magazine company on his laptop.

_Hmm…Somehow they just feel lacklustre. Maybe if I-_

He got distracted by a soft giggle in the quiet café. He looked up and saw a lady with soft brown hair that went past her shoulders, sitting by the windows and smiling by herself. She had pretty features – bright round eyes, a sharp nose and small cherry lips. He traced what she was looking at and followed her gaze out the windows to a little girl trying to stand up by herself but fell back on her bottom instead. He stroked his own chin, tracing his jawline with his finger and thumb, something that he always does when he was deep in thought before resting his fist on his lips and watched the lady.

_Hmm…_

_\---_

 

Yura felt like she had watched over 20 mini-films just by people-watching. She was feeling slightly exhausted from feeling all kinds of emotions – pride when the toddler successfully walked towards her parents without falling; melancholic when she saw a young lady sitting by herself, checking her watch constantly…It was only when she shifted her concentration away from the happenings outside then did she feel that something was off. It was a queer sensation, something which she has never experienced before. Sure, she was used to the casual glances that people would throw at her because she was young and decent looking. However, she was never looked at with such intensity. She brought her gaze to meet that of the man who was sitting a few tables in front of her. He caught her gaze steadily with a teasing glint in his eyes.

She was being observed.

Yura choked on her drink and started coughing, trying to get the liquid out of her air pipes. The man stood up and packed his stuff with a full-blown smile on his face when he saw Yura’s shocked face. He approached her with confidence and a wide smile that showed his gums. He had small black studs on his ear lobes, accentuating his black orbs. His face was handsome and his fringe was swept off his face. He stood before her with his bag slung casually over his shoulder and asked with a baritone voice,

“May I?”

Yura finally got over her coughing and gestured to the seat opposite her politely albeit confused,

“Please.”

Now that he was finally going to talk to her, his ears turned red from shyness. Even though he has done this countless of times, it never gets easier.

_I guess this is why I’m an introvert._

“Hi,” he began. “I’m sorry to surprise you like this but I’m a freelance journalist. My name is Bang Yongguk.” He finished before putting his name-card on the table.

“I’m currently preparing an article on the theme ‘Youth’ which I am planning on submitting to the spring edition of ‘Life’ magazine and I would like to interview you.” He finished with a charming smile.

Yura frowned slightly. She was a journalist herself but she had never conducted an impromptu interview with such an unorthodox method. Yet, hearing that this was an article for ‘Life’ magazine, one of the most popular lifestyle magazines, stopped her from rejecting his request immediately. She saw the sincerity in his eyes and decided to give him a chance.

“What is your direction for the article?” she asked. “I’m not so sure if I’m suitable for this interview,” voicing her doubt.

Yongguk broke out into a smile, “If that’s what you’re worried about, just know that it is not necessary. I get inspiration from my interviewees and I like to keep my options open. I find that articles work best with this fluidity.”

Yura silently compared his method to hers. She is a rigid person. She would never go into an interview unprepared and her direction for the piece would always be its foundation. If it shifted then that would mean that her work would crumble. His methodology intrigued her.

“I’ll do my best,” she replied with a nod, confirming her participation.

Upon hearing the answer, he nodded gratefully at her and flipped open his laptop, getting ready to transcribe the conversation. “Thank you very much. No pressure though, just treat this as a casual and relaxed conversation,” he added. He was surprised that she decided to help him, judging by how guarded she was.

Yura’s body tensed. She had never been interviewed in such an informal manner before. She was always the interviewer and would pick interviewees whom she knew would give answers that would fit her intended direction. The interviews were only used to back up the ideas that she had already come up with from the research process. She was worried because she had no idea what she was supposed to say. She was always the observer, not the one under the spotlight.

Yongguk continued, oblivious to her nerves, “How should I call you?”

Yura replied, “My name is Shin Yura. Yura ssi is fine,” letting out a deep breath she did not even realise she was holding.

Yongguk nodded and smiled before asking, “Can I have your age as well? I know that this may be a sensitive question to most females but it is important for this interview.”

“I was born in the year 1990,” Yura shrugged. Age has not become a big deal to her yet.

“We were born in the same year, that’s nice. I’m curious to know how our opinions on ‘youth’ differ. Yura ssi, I will not beat about the bush. What do you think being young signifies?”

Yura sighed inwardly. She did not know what to say. Her eyes wandered around the room, anywhere but Yongguk’s face, as she debated whether or not to lie to him.

_You could just give him a cliché answer like ‘being young means being alive’…_

She cringed.

_What does that even mean?_

Yongguk let his amusement show on his face. He was pretty sure she would not see his reaction anyway since she was busy avoiding his eyes. He knew what kind of dilemma she was facing right now. It was intentional. He would not expect anyone to come up with an insightful yet honest answer to this question unless they have contemplated this question before. What he was looking for was honesty. If she lied to him and shot any random answer at him, he would end the interview right away. Honesty is the stepping stone to being dedicated to self-exploration. This was the test which she had to pass to proceed.

Slowly, the crease between Yura’s eyebrows loosened up and she scratched her head in embarrassment.

“I don’t know,” she answered.

Yongguk chuckled. His low voice reverberated in her ears and every beat made her blush even harder.

“I didn’t expect you to know,” he began softly. “I just wanted to know if you would be honest with me, and honest with yourself, regarding things you don’t know.”

She stiffened and nodded lightly, avoiding his eyes.

She was really impressed. Honesty…This was something she never considered when conducting her interviews. What if the people I have interviewed in the past knew that I expected them to answer in a certain way and replied so that they could please me? What if my questions were framed so that they could guess what I wanted out of them?

Observer’s effect.

By admitting that she did not know the answer, she did not only manage to come clean with herself…she was building trust with her interviewer.

“By keeping your interviews and interactions fluid, you are also preventing any form of confirmation bias…” she mumbled.

Yongguk nodded, “Yes. I have my own interpretation of what it means to be young and even though it is not 100% possible to not influence you with my beliefs, I will try.”

Yura responded with a small smile, “You must be very passionate about your job.”

Yongguke smiled brightly, “I love my job. You are right, it is my passion.”

A thoughtful silence ensued.

He continued, “Yura ssi, can you tell me why you are so passionate about people-watching? From how you were watching different people, I don’t suppose you are a detective and people-watching is probably your hobby.”

She replied swiftly, “Yongguk ssi, I believe that you people-watch quite frequently as well,” pointing out that he had been watching her for some time.

Yongguk simply shrugged, “It’s part of the job.”

Yura smiled softly, “It’s part of my job too…I’m a staff writer for ‘Elle Korea’, a women’s magazine…”

Yongguk’s eyes widened but he did not interrupt.

“But people-watching is bigger than my job. It is my life. We only get to live one life in one lifetime. Yet when I people-watch, I feel like I’m living many other lives too. I go through what these people experience. I do not only feel enriched but I think about the things which I could have done better.” she finished.

There was a moment of silence as Yongguk tried to understand what Yura had just said. He stroked his chin before responding, “Limbic resonance huh? It sounds pompous though.”

“Excuse me?” Yura questioned.

“I mean, you may experience the same kind of emotions you perceive others to have but if you don’t know these people you would just be stereotyping them. You are evaluating their facial expressions and actions without knowing any context. In my opinion, you are only underestimating the complexity of emotions other people are feeling. For example, that happy couple over there,” he pointed to a middle-aged couple sitting on a bench just outside the café.

“They may just look like any other happy couple but what you might not know is that one of them is suffering from cancer right now and it took them ages to finally come to terms with their love for each other because one party did not want to be considered a burden. You are just seeing what you want to see.”

And Yura knew that he was right.

_Touché…_

She could not even come up with a rebuttal because this was exactly her problem. This habit of hers, this confirmation bias has created problems in her work as well. Her boss has been pretty upset with her articles. Sure, they were written well but they were not anything special. Anyone with enough literacy would be able to produce such works. There was nothing that differentiated her from other writers and her position as a staff writer on ‘Elle Korea’ was getting compromised.

She was living in denial.

“I’m sorry, this was supposed to be an interview…” Yongguk apologized softly upon seeing her distraught look.

“Why…” She asked, her body shaking. “Why did you choose me for the interview?”

Without missing a beat, Yongguk replied looking straight at her, “Because I was like you.”

 

\---

 

Silence fell upon them.

Yongguk was about to explain more but Yura simply cut him off.

“S-So you think that because you have experienced the same problems as I do but unlike me, you have managed to overcome them, you are now a bigger person who can tell me what to do?” she fired back.

She pushed back her chair roughly, the screeching broke the silence of the now-close-to-empty café, and stood up with both palms on the table.

“I don’t know what you want from me…I don’t know what you thought you could do with this interview as a front but I’m not letting a stranger tell me how to live my life,” she stated, looking Yongguk square in the face before picking up her drink and bag.

“You’re right, “she paused when she heard his steady voice.

“This interview is not a lesson. It’s so much more than that. It’s a process, a process of self-exploration.”

Yura grabbed his name-card off the table and left. She was in such a rush that she almost bumped into two male figures who entered the café just as she was leaving.

“S-sorry,” she mumbled before heading off to her bicycle.

“Hyung!” The taller male called out to Yongguk without acknowledging the lady that almost bumped into him while the younger male looked at her inquisitively.

“Did something happen during the interview?” the older male asked.

“How could you have guessed, Jongup?” Yongguk said tiredly.

“Well, you weren’t sitting here when we left you and even though we were supposed to hang out today, you chose to sit in a quiet café with your laptop,” Jongup replied matter-of-factly.

“I should have gone rollerblading with you guys…I guess I was just too eager to finish up this article. Yet, my eagerness has gotten the better of me…Well, no point in brooding. C’mon Jongup and Junhong, let’s go grab something to eat,” Yongguk said. It was as if an inner switch was flipped and he was fine again.

“Hyung, you work too hard…” Junhong said softly.

 

\---

 

Yura got back to her apartment after having dinner. It was time to watch the 7.55pm weekend drama on MBC but she just did not feel like it.

Her routine was broken.

Doubt was a tricky thing. It had been a while since she felt this way. She had been living as an independent woman since she moved away from her parents, from the countryside, for college in the city. There was not much room for doubt if you wanted to be a woman who provided completely for herself and lived on her own in the 21st century. Yet, it was like a tree of doubt was growing within her mind at this moment and even if she focused on using a mental axe to cut it down, the roots could never be removed. She took out a crumpled card from her pocket.

_Bang Yongguk_

_Freelance Writer_

_010-XXXX-XXXX_

This was the seed of her doubt.

She knew that every word that came out from his mouth was right but every part that made sense was like a gunshot to her pride. Her life was a routine that had become her comfort zone. It felt perfectly fine to continue living in this zone but her head knew better. Her lifestyle, heck, her mind-set had become debilitating. The problems she was facing at work and her absent social life were proof. But this was the first time someone had pointed out her problem in her face. She was surprised that he could see through her so easily.

_Well…He did say that he was like me._

So maybe this was her chance. She will acknowledge that he has had the same problems as she does but it does not mean that she would have to walk the same path as him. Their destinations can be different. But stepping out of one’s comfort zone is always difficult. Even after she knew how detrimental her mind-set was to her life and job, she did not do anything about it. She was not brave enough to take the first step on the path to change. But maybe this was where he could help her. An interviewer is like a facilitator. He probes, non-invasively, to encourage new thought. His questions develops the interviewee, not exposes and he definitely does not impose. Most importantly, he would be there the whole way through with the interviewee. She did not think she could walk down this path alone.

_But…_

She hesitated.

_Was Bang Yongguk such an interviewer though?_

He _did_ throw his opinions of people-watching on her when she was supposed to be the interviewee. Yet…if he was not such an interviewer, he would not have valued honesty and trust. There was something about him.

Yura took in a deep breath and released it slowly. There would always be risk involved in taking a new path. If she wanted change, she would have to give it a shot.

She picked up her phone and began typing a new message:

Hey…This is Shin Yura-

She deleted what she wrote and tried again:

Hey Yongguk ssi, this is Shin Yura. I just wanted to-

She closed the message window and went straight to her keypad. If she was going to take his shot, she would have to go all the way – a message just was not sincere enough.

She dialled his number and waited for him to pick up. After a few rings, she heard the familiar low voice,

“Hello?”

She took a deep breath and replied sincerely,

“Yongguk ssi? This is Shin Yura.”

There was silence on the other end.

“I just wanted to apologize for my outburst earlier today…If you would like to continue with the interview, I’m more than happy to comply,” she said politely.

There was another moment of silence.

“I was hoping you would come around,” he chuckled.

Underneath his joking tone, she detected bits of relief.

“Apology accepted…If you are free tomorrow, let’s meet at the same café again at say, 2pm?” he asked.

“I’ll see you then,” she affirmed.

“See you,” he responded before hanging up the call.

It was a short and polite conversation and she was grateful for his professionalism.

_I think I’m right about him…_

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
